September 14, 2005

GOSSIP 2 GO 9/15

EVA'S GOT A KEEPEREVA Longoria's man, San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker, stands up for his woman. At a party in Longoria's honor, held by her pal and stylist Robert Verdi at Da Silvano, Longoria told PAGE SIX: "The French tabloids are regurgitating a bunch of old interviews I gave a long time ago where I said I wouldn't mind dating several guys at once. So now they are printing: 'Eva cheats on Tony!' and Tony is so upset he offered to call the mayor of Paris who knows the tabloid people to try and stop it. He just wants to protect me. He is so great."

IF YOU CAN'T GOSSIP ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS THAN WHO CAN YOU?HEATHERETTE, the haute-trash fashion line fronted by cross-dressing club kid Richie Rich,and personal friend of mine lost its top exec a few days before its big Bryant Park show. Elissa Bromer, who was hired away from Perry Ellis in February to be the company's president, has parted ways with the label after only six months. But Heatherette rep Aimee Phillips says Bromer had signed on for only a six-month consultancy. "The contract expired," she said.

SHAQ LUVS THE GAYS*Shaquille O'Neal, the 7 foot plus NBA superstar who wants to be a a top cop when his playing days are over, got some more practice for the job this past Sunday. He assisted in busting a guy who allegedly assaulted a gay couple who were walking in Miami Beach.

O'Neal, the Miami Heat center, who's in the process of becoming a Miami Beach reserve officer, was out cruising around at 3 am Sunday when he saw a man yell anti-gay slurs at the the couple, Bobby Hernandez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, said. The suspect then got out the car he riding in as a passenger and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians. After that, the perp got back in the car which sped off, but with O'Neal following.

"He flagged down the Miami Beach officer on duty there, and the officer was able to apprehend the subject," Hernandez said.

Bottomline: Michael Gonzalez, 18, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. The driver of the car was not charged. Meanwhile, O'Neal, who hopes to be a police chief or county sheriff one day, made it clear in a statement that he wants to be seen as a cop.

"For this incident I don't want to be credited as an individual who does police work,'' O'Neal said. "I want to be credited as a Miami Beach police officer.''

JUDGE COOLS SUGE OFFImprisoned drug dealer Michael Harris, who claims he put up the seed money to launch Death Row records, wants half of a $107 million judgment awarded to his wife Lydia Harris, who successfully proved in court that she was also in on the initial launch of the label. Neither of the Harrises may ever see that money from the label’s CEO and self-proclaimed founder Knight after a judge ordered all of his assets frozen.Monterey County Superior Court Judge Adrienne M. Grover froze the mogul’s assets on Aug. 29, the day after he was shot in the leg at a Miami Beach party. In March, a Los Angeles judge ordered Knight and his companies to pay $107 million to Lydia Harris, who claimed she helped start Death Row and was owed money from the recording label. The judge made the decision after finding that Knight and his lawyers failed to answer questions and provide information in the case, which never reached trial.Read More

CHAPPELLE PREFERS THE CLUB LIFEAfter walking away from his gig on Comedy Central, comedian Dave Chappelle has been working the club circuit, and says he’s perfectly content to do so."I like that particular kind of attention. People don't know what it's like standing up there on stage, when you have a wall of people smiling at you," Chappelle told The Cincinnati Enquirer."Most people don't know what it's like to stand up there and speak their mind. I have a venue to do that. I get paid to do that. It's not like I'm doing heavy lifting up there. It's not like I'm solving the world's problems. It's like I'm hanging out with a bunch of people and it's cool," he said.Chappelle, who recently sold out 10 shows at a northern Kentucky club, threw the suits at Comedy Central off guard when he abruptly left his series “Chappelle’s Show” during pre-production for the third season. He took a trip to South Africa for a “spiritual retreat,” then returned two weeks later to his 65-acre farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio, about 75 miles northeast of Cincinnati. He’s been on the standup circuit ever since. Last week, he played the 325-seat Funny Bone Comedy Club at Newport on the Levee.Chappelle’s rumored breakdown has surely made it into his standup routine. Reports of mental and drug problems plagued the entertainer during his visit to South Africa; reports he has denied."It was a little weird," he told the newspaper of the rumors. "It felt like some of the stuff was real tabloid, like raw speculation.”“It was like stuff I would normally buy and believe," he added, laughing. "I just took it as a learning experience. It was like becoming a public person and learning all the responsibility that comes with that."MORE KANYE AFTERMATH(A.K.A. DISTRACTION FROM THE REAL PROBLEMS) *Reports of Usher criticizing Kanye West for the timing of his comments about George Bush were false, according to the R&B singer.“Contrary to false media reports, I support the personal opinions made by my friend Kanye West,” Usher said in a statement released through his rep, Simone Smalls of Susan Blond, Inc“If it wasn’t for his comments, there would not be an open dialogue about the underserved people in the Gulf Region,” Usher said. “Our country is in a state of emergency — instead of the media trying to turn celebrities against one another — we should all come together as one and support the victims of this devastating tragedy. Let’s all be a blessing to those in need.”

MAN WHO SOCKED DRE GETS A YEARA man was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to punching rap mogul Dr. Dre at the Vibe Awards last year.The judge also sentenced Jimmy James Johnson, 27, to three years probation and ordered him to stay away from Dre for three years, said Deputy District Attorney Hamid Towfigh.Johnson punched Dre after asking for his autograph during a taping of the show on Nov. 15, setting off a chair-throwing brawl that spread through the crowd.Johnson was allegedly stabbed by rapper Young Buck after punching Dre. Buck, whose given name is David Darnell Brown, has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail awaiting trial.